


Wooing you

by OhhMyy



Series: Coming Back To Life. [20]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, First Dates, Fluff, Mild Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-31
Updated: 2017-01-31
Packaged: 2018-09-21 05:43:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9534185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OhhMyy/pseuds/OhhMyy
Summary: First dates, trendy restaurants and mild panic.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry this post has taken a while, life has been a bit off the rails recently!

She kisses him on the cheek, slipping her small hand into his without thinking as they make their way out of the tower; making small talk as they walk down the busy New York streets. The sun is setting, luminous sunset casting a shadow over the high rise skyline. He barely listens to her words, watching her face full of laughter move; red lips forming slowly over words as she retells a joke from Clint earlier in the day, her skin is basking in the orange glow from the sunset. He offers his jacket and she refuses, wrapping her arm around his instead as she snuggles closer, pressing her face briefly into the warmth of his wool jacket before walking on.

He’d asked Tony about a good spot for a date and the billionaire had suggested the hottest new restaurant in New York, a Hispter Italian place with a nightclub in the basement. It didn’t seem like a place that would suit Charlie but he assumed Tony had known better than anyone else what would be a good idea. Frankly, when she came out of her room in a tight black dress, hair pinned back and red painted toes peeking out of matching black shoes, he didn’t really care where they were they were going.

He grips her hand as the doorman lets them in, squeezing tighter as they make their way through the crowds and into the restaurant. She presses herself closer to him and he’s unsure if it’s meant as a comfort to him or herself. The line outside is halfway down the street and neither can hear themselves think past the din of music and chatter.

The hostess greets them and Charlie is a little ashamed of the way her arm tightens around Bucky’s as the woman’s eyes rove over him, tight fitted black slacks highlighting the definition in his thighs, masculine jawline free from stubble and eyes more piercing than usual under the dimmed light of the room; she’s comforted only by the way his hand finds its way over his own body, coming to rest over her fingers.

She doesn’t miss the way he pulls her closer as they make headway towards the table, or the way he’s keeping his head down, hair hiding some of his face as an instinctive protective mechanism. She seats herself, waving off his offer of gentlemanly chair help and watches him closely as he quirks his lip briefly at her before focusing intently on tablecloth.

“Hello, I’m Jack your waiter for…Charlie?” A voice interrupts, and she turns her head around to clock a familiar acquaintance, tall and slim with long hair swept back into a ponytail. She smiles, standing from her seat to give him a brief hug.

“Jack!” She smiles warmly, sitting back down and resting her foot against Bucky’s, half in warning half in reassurance.

“It’s good to see you, how’s Tony?

“He’s doing good, I’m being rude, Jack this is Bucky” She gestures, watching intently as the ex-assassin turns his head towards her before acknowledging their waiter.

“Nice to meet you”

Bucky nods and extends, purposefully, his metal hand, a clear indication it’s not quite as nice to meet Jack as Charlie seems to think it is. Jack shakes it, balking slightly. She smiles apologetically at their waiter, who drops Bucky’s grip before handing them menus

“Can I get you anything to drink?” He asks, making a point of turning to both of them rather than just her, as if sensing the hostility radiating from Bucky.

“Just some water for the table for now, Jack, thank you” She answers, reaching out to gently squeeze his arm.

“He seems nice” Bucky grits out, looking down at his menu already and Charlie laughs, causing him to look up in question.  She shakes her head, slight roll in the eyes.

“Yes, both he and his husband Alex are lovely” She stresses, berating him playfully.  He has the good grace to look sheepish.

“How do you know him?”

“Tony hired him a few times to serve drinks at the tower, I got told off for offering him drinks and telling him to take a load off”

“That does sound like you”

He’s fidgeting nervously with the menu and she can see a bead of sweat threatening to make its way down his forehead. She notices the muscles in his arms moving as he clenches and unclenches his fist under the table.

“Is this too crowded? Are you alright?”

“No Doll, this is fine” The words come out too fast, too clean cut for him to have put any actual thought into them.

“You’re lying” She says, tapping her foot gently against his leg “we don’t have to stay”

“I want you to have a good time”

“Bucky, I’d have been happy with a pizza on the couch”

“It’s our first date” He says, as though it’s obvious a first date should involve a place that makes both parties wildly uncomfortable just for the sake of social convention.

“First of many, I hope” She says, leaning across the table to lace her fingers with hers, knocking the menu to the table “We have time to do this stuff” She gets a contemplative look on her face, glancing around the room she spots their waiter.

“I’ll be back” she says, sweeping the loose bits of her hair up in her fist and leaning over the table to press a kiss to his cheek, careful of the candle burning in the middle. She moves from her seat, elegance and grace, before bee-lining for Jack. Bucky watches as she leans in close to him, watches like a hawk as she places a hand on his arm and whispers in his ear. He whispers something back, smiling and nodding and Bucky feels his lip curl into a small snarl before catching himself. Jack disappears out back as she turns to scan the room, eyes landing on his with a smile.

“Get up, come on” She says as she flounces back to the table, holding out a hand for him to take, he raises an eyebrow at her but grips her fingers with his, letting himself be pulled upright.

She picks up her purse from beside her chair and drags him with her to the back exit, working their way past the kitchen to the staff entrance. A waiter holds the door open for them, nodding at them both as she thanks him.

“Doll, where are we going? We can’t just leave”

“We did just leave, we’re outside, if we go back we’ll have to make another reservation, I’ve heard they’re hard to get” She quips, coming to a stop in the alleyway behind the restaurant. She drops his hand, turning to face him with a smile.

“Want to go on an adventure?” She doesn’t give him time to respond, walking up the alleyway to the main street, the queue outside the restaurant makes Bucky wince; sure he’ll have to apologise profusely to Tony for screwing up a reservation at the hottest place in NYC. He follows obediently as she turns a corner into another alleyway, small luminous sign at the end of it.

She grips his hand again, dragging him to the small nook inside the wall; there’s a tiny kitchen, what looks like a takeout place. Charlie knocks on the closed door, bopping on her heels until it’s opened, a small, rotund man pops his head around the door.

“Order for Jack?” She asks, Bucky turns his head towards her in confusion but she just smiles back. The man comes back with a paper bag, handing it to her with a smile before closing the door back up.

“Did we just buy drugs?” He asks aghast.  She cackles, leaning down to place a hand on her knee, difficult as she is clutching her purse between her fingers.

“We brought Tacos, calm down” She opens the top of the bag, thrusting it at him in proof before closing it back up and gripping it between her fingers; she laces the digits on the other hand through his.

They walk for about ten minutes, stopping at the small park near the Tower. She leads him to a small wooded area with a bench in the middle, sensor lights illuminating the trees as they sit.

She hands him a taco, fishing her own out of the bag; watching with a chuckle as he attempts to eat it delicately. She listens to the traffic passing, the hustle of New York city street and the flapping of birds in the trees above her. They finish their food and stay silent for a few minutes, companionable quiet as the noise around them drowns to a dull background. She stands and puts their littler in the bin before proffering a hand.

“Want to go for a walk?” He nods, ignoring her hand in favour of wrapping his arm around her waist and bringing her in close.

“I’m sorry” He mumbles, clenching his metal fist at his side nervously “This is my first date since the 40’s, I want to do well”

“Nothing’s changed Bucky; you go out, you talk, you figure out if you like each other” She laughs, making a mental note to berate Tony for his suggestion, given how well he knows her (and what he does know about Bucky) he should know that crowded, loud and trendy places don’t really fit either of them.

“I already like you”

“Well that’s handy, I like you too. We’re out, we’re talking, you’re already doing well” She smiles, resting her head briefly against his collarbone.

“Okay then, first date conversation; tell me about your childhood” He asks, first date questions actually difficult given how well they know each other.

“Colorado, big farm, really rural, hippy parents, total freedom, you know the usual” She laughs “How about you?”

“Brooklyn, good childhood, my folks died young” She knows this, he’s discussed it before, as has Steve but it never fails to stab at her chest, she feels so honoured to have had two parents who thought she was the entire world, both of whom are alive and well and present in her life.

“I’m sorry”

“It’s alright, Doll, it was good whilst they were alive, they were good people, I grew up with Captain America, did I tell you that?”

“Really? Amazing, I grew up with Iron man, maybe we should let them meet some time?” He snorts a laugh, pulling her closer against him and pressing a kiss into the side of her hair.

“Tell me about them? Your folks” She asks quietly, gently.

“I don’t remember much. Remembering is hard enough as it is” He pauses, and she presses a kiss to the cool fabric of his shirt. “My Ma was real pretty, I remember she always smelled like vanilla and she used to sing around the house, and bake, the woman could bake” There’s a reminiscent smile tugging at his face and it makes her as happy as it does sad, she reaches an arm over herself, rests it on his stomach as they walk.

“And your Dad?”

“He was in the army, away a lot but he tried to be around more after Ma died, he was big, maybe I was just small but he always seemed like a giant to me” She runs her fingers gently over his taught stomach muscles as he exhales sadly, feels them shift under his skin.

“I would have liked to have met them”

“I think they’d have liked you” She offers him a smile, brain ticking sadly over all the things he’s missed, will miss in the future and wonders if being here is worth everything he’s been through.

“What about school? Were you good in school?” She asks, attempting to change the subject.

“I was a pain at school!” He laughs “Didn’t pay attention, spoke back, pulled pranks” She can picture it, little Bucky Barnes running around pulling pigtails.

“I bet you broke all the hearts”

He shakes his head with a laugh.

“What about you?”

“I was a total nerd at school, straight A’s, did all my homework on time, rebelled against rebellion, you wouldn’t have given me the time of day!”

“I’d have thought you were gorgeous” He charms, pressing another kiss into her hair as she scoffs “What about your job? Photographer?”

“Not for a while, but it was good, travelled all over the place; China, Russia, Australia, Africa, Europe, a trip around the States, I think I’ve seen 48 of them so far. Camping, backpacking, I once almost got frostbite in Reykjavik. I had a contract with National Geographic; I’d like to get back into it, maybe portraits” He smiles, slightly awed at her, wonders if she’s aware how long she’s been talking so enthusiastically about it. He’s seen the pictures that litter her bedroom, has no doubt she could get back into it.

“It sounds amazing”

“It was”

Companionable silence falls over them as they walk, her heels clack against the floor.

“I’m sorry Doll”

“For what?”

“Ruining our first date”

She sighs, stopping her feet moving against the ground and withdrawing herself from his arms. She turns her body to face his, tucking a lose strand of hair behind her ear as she offers him a small perplexed smile.

“Are we having a first date? Are you having a good time?” He nods at her questions “Nothing’s ruined Bucky, this is good”

“I was trying to do things properly”

“We’ve been avoiding this for months, I’m all in Bucky, you don’t need to woo me”

He steps closer, pulling her in by the waist and pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

“I want to woo you”

“That sounded dirty” She charms, voice low and husky as she bats her eyelids at him, peeping up through dark mascara coated lashes.

He lets out a laugh, warm, deep and rumbling, it sets off butterflies in the pit of her stomach. He pulls her tighter against him, wrapping his arms around her waist fully as he presses another kiss into her hair.

“I don’t need roses and wine for you to woo me, I just want to spend time with you and I mean…hey we’ve already been to dinner at the trendiest place in the city”

“We didn’t eat dinner” He points out.

“Doesn’t matter, we still went” She offers, beaming smile trying to make him comfortable.

“You are something else, Doll”


End file.
